[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 122 (Tuesday, June 25, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 37995-37997]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-15055]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

10 CFR Part 460

[Docket No. EERE-2009-BT-BC-0021]
RIN 1904-AC11


Energy Efficiency Standards for Manufactured Housing

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of 
Energy.

ACTION: Request for Information (RFI).

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has initiated the process 
to develop and publish energy standards for manufactured housing, as 
directed by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA). To 
facilitate this process, enhance the quality of the standards and 
supporting documentation, and to allow interested parties to provide 
suggestions, comments, and information, DOE is publishing this request 
for information.

[[Page 37996]]

DOE is interested in receiving information that relates to the 
relationship between energy efficiency and indoor air quality in 
manufactured housing, financing measures that may be available for 
manufactured homes with higher energy efficiencies, and possible 
enforcement models for the DOE standards. This notice identifies 
several areas on which DOE is particularly interested in receiving 
information; however, any input and suggestions considered relevant to 
DOE's effort are welcome.

DATES: Written comments and information are requested on or before July 
25, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties are encouraged to submit comments 
electronically. However, interested persons may submit comments, 
identified by docket number EERE-2009-BT-BC-0021 or by RIN 1904-AC11, 
by any of the following methods:
    1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments.
    2. Email: [email protected]. Include docket number 
EERE-2009-BT-BC-0021 in the subject line of the message. Please include 
the full body of your comments in the text of the message or as an 
attachment.
    3. Mail: Address written comments to Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. 
Department of Energy, Building Technologies Office, Mailstop EE-2J, 
1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. If possible, 
please submit all items on a compact disc (CD), in which case it is not 
necessary to include printed copies.
    4. Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Building Technologies Office, 6th Floor, 950 L'Enfant Plaza 
SW., Washington, DC 20024. Telephone: (202) 586-2945. If possible, 
please submit all items on a CD, in which case it is not necessary to 
include printed copies.
    Due to potential delays in DOE's receipt and processing of mail 
sent through the U.S. Postal Service, we encourage respondents to 
submit comments electronically to ensure timely receipt.
    This RFI and any comments that DOE receives will be made available 
on the DOE Building Technologies Office Manufactured Housing Web site 
at https://www.energycodes.gov/regulations/manufactured-housing-standards.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Mohammed Khan, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building 
Technologies Office, EE-2J, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, 
DC 20585-0121; (202) 586-7892; mailto: [email protected]. Questions on DOE's legal authority should be 
directed to Michael Jensen, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the 
General Counsel (GC-71), 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 
20585; [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Authority and Background

    Section 413 of EISA requires that DOE establish by regulation 
standards for energy efficiency in manufactured housing. See 42 U.S.C. 
17071(a)(1). DOE is directed to base the energy efficiency standards on 
the most recent version of the International Energy Conservation Code 
(IECC), except where DOE finds that the IECC is not cost effective, or 
a more stringent standard would be more cost effective, based on the 
impact of the IECC on the purchase price of manufactured housing and on 
total life-cycle construction and operating costs. See 42 U.S.C. 
17071(b)(1). In establishing the energy efficiency standards, DOE is 
directed to consider:
     The design and factory construction techniques of 
manufactured housing,
     The climate zones established in the U.S. Department of 
Housing and Urban Development's Manufactured Home Construction and 
Safety Standards (the HUD Code) rather than the climate zones in the 
IECC, and
     Alternative practices that result in net estimated energy 
consumption equal to or less than the specific IECC standards. See 42 
U.S.C. 17071(b)(2).
    In addition, DOE is to provide a system for enforcement in which 
``[a]ny manufacturer of manufactured housing that violates a provision 
of the regulations under subsection (a) is liable to the United States 
for a civil penalty in an amount not exceeding 1 percent of the 
manufacturer's retail list price of the manufactured housing.'' See 42 
U.S.C. 17071(c).
    On February 22, 2010, DOE published an advance notice of proposed 
rulemaking (ANOPR) to initiate the process of developing energy 
efficiency standards for manufactured housing and to solicit 
information and data from industry and stakeholders (75 FR 7556). The 
ANOPR identified thirteen specific issue areas on which DOE sought 
additional information. DOE received a total of twelve written comments 
in response to the ANOPR, all of which are available for public viewing 
at the regulations.gov Web page.
    DOE now believes it is important to allow interested parties an 
additional opportunity to provide information they feel will assist DOE 
in developing the proposed standards. This initial request for input 
will be followed by a notice of proposed rulemaking, based on the 
information received as a result of this notice and other data and 
information gathered by DOE.

Public Participation

A. Submission of Information

    DOE will accept comments in response to this notice under the 
timeline provided in the DATES section above. Comments submitted to DOE 
by email should be provided in WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, PDF, or 
text file format. Those responding should avoid the use of special 
characters or any form of encryption, and wherever possible, comments 
should include the electronic signature of the author. Comments 
submitted to DOE by mail or hand delivery/courier should include one 
signed original paper copy. No telefacsimiles will be accepted.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will become a matter 
of public record and will be made publicly available.

B. Issues on Which DOE Seeks Information

    DOE is particularly interested in receiving information on the 
following issues:
    (1) Indoor Air Quality. DOE is interested in data, studies, and 
other such materials that address the relationship between potential 
reductions in levels of natural air infiltration and both indoor air 
quality and occupant health for a manufactured home. DOE is 
particularly interested in information on the potential interplay 
between air exchange rates comparable to those specified under the 2012 
IECC and emission control requirements under the HUD Code. DOE also is 
interested in information on typical baseline levels of air 
infiltration through recently-built manufactured homes and information 
on the role of total air flow through a manufactured home in the 
protection of occupant health and safety.
    (2) Financing and related incentives. DOE received comments in 
response to the ANOPR that noted generally that the increased cost of 
financing energy efficient manufactured homes often can be an obstacle 
to purchase. DOE is interested in receiving additional information on 
the types of financing available for manufactured homes, the

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availability of this financing, the extent to which manufactured 
housing currently is incentivized, and the availability of energy 
efficiency incentive programs available to manufactured home 
purchasers. DOE also is interested in information on the existence of 
financing structures offered by utilities, manufacturers, lenders, and 
federal, state, and local governments, and the estimated payback 
associated with each method of financing.
    (3) Model systems of enforcement. DOE received comments in response 
to the ANOPR that included urging DOE to rely on HUD's existing 
enforcement system rather than develop a separate DOE system of 
enforcement, encouraging DOE develop a separate compliance 
certification system that would be independent of the existing HUD 
certification system, and recommending that DOE rely on the EPA ENERGY 
STAR verification and labeling program to ensure compliance with the 
DOE energy efficiency standards. DOE is interested in receiving 
additional information that commenters believe would be useful to DOE 
regarding suggested characteristics in developing a model system of 
enforcement for DOE's energy efficiency standards.
    (4) Suggested sources, studies, and research results of other 
information considered relevant to DOE's effort to establish energy 
standards for manufactured housing.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on June 18, 2013.
Kathleen B. Hogan,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency, Energy Efficiency and 
Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 2013-15055 Filed 6-24-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P